Barbara Bishop Chapin

Barbara Bishop Chapin, of Asheville, NC and Village of Golf, FL peacefully passed away Sunday November 6, 2022, after a ten-year struggle with Alzheimer’s.

Barbara was born in Buffalo, NY in 1938. She grew up in Aurora, OH, with two loving parents and her little brother Bruce. She later attended University Liggett High School in Grosse Pointe, MI and Bennett Junior College in Millbrook, NY.

At age 20, Barbara moved to Chicago, IL and took her first job at Young & Rubicam Advertising. A few years later she moved to Manhattan, NY where she spent the most exciting part of her career in Public Relations at Time Life Magazine. While there, she caught the attention of Bill Kiefer, a writer for Time Life, who later proposed to her with a ring from a Cracker Jack box.

They soon married and had a daughter, Libby, a year later. After Bill’s sudden passing in 1976, Barbara and Libby moved to Winnetka, IL to live near her brother Bruce while she earned a paralegal degree at Mallinckrodt College.

Barbara and Libby later relocated to Delray Dunes Country Club and then Quail Ridge Country Club in Boynton Beach, FL. where she made many life-long friends and met the love of her life, Robert Chapin. Barbara and Bob spent 31 joyful years together traveling, fishing, playing golf, and supporting their church and community.

Barbara was most proud of her work serving on the board of The Community Foundation of Palm Beach, where she was instrumental in raising scholarship money for talented and under privileged children to attend Art school. Together Bob and Barbara lived at The Country Club of Florida for 10 years before retiring to Deerfield Episcopal Community in Asheville, NC.

Barbara had a radiant smile and effortless grace. She lived her life with a kind heart and unflinching optimism and could often be heard reminding us of the importance to move “onward and upward” when life presents challenges. Her positive outlook on life was at the core of who she was and what each person, who had the fortune to know her, will take with them forever.

Barbara is survived by her husband Robert D. Chapin (“Bob”), her daughter Elizabeth Kiefer Fantl (“Libby”) and husband Nicolas Fantl, of Virginia Beach, her brother Bruce Bishop, of Virginia Beach, her stepdaughters Riley Chapin Jiminez, of Boynton Beach, and Lisa Chapin Bullett, of San Francisco and her only grandson Owen Fantl.

The family wishes to express their eternal gratitude to the Skilled Nursing staff at The Deerfield Retirement Community in Asheville, NC, for the loving care they gave Barbara in the last years of her life. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a contribution to Deerfield Skilled Nursing or Memory Care, in Asheville, NC, providing treatment and support for families affected by Alzheimer’s.

A memorial service will be held at St. Giles Chapel in Asheville, NC on Thursday November 10, 2022 at 11 a.m. A celebration of her life will be held in Delray Beach, Florida in February 2023.